Mokes in Monte Carlo, flying electric bikes and a car worse than a Trabant

We've come to the end of the reporting season for our listed companies. It's been tricky this year. If you've done well you have to spin it so the public don't think you're profiting from the pandemic but so your shareholders know you have been.

Well why should our friends in the car industry get away without a final financial report card? Today we give you the questions to ask at their AGMs.

"Can Renault make a worse car than the Trabant, commonly known as a spark plug with a roof?: Cue Trabant jokes from East Berlin: Why has the new Trabi been launched with two exhaust pipes? So you can use it as a wheelbarrow. What's the best feature of a Trabant? There's a heater at the back to keep your hands warm when you're pushing it."

Then there's the report from London's Telegraph saying: "The car that turned the most heads in Monaco early last week was not the Lamborghini Veneno, Lykan Hypersport or Bugatti Veyron casually parked outside the Casino de Monte-Carlo, but a Moke. Yes, indeed, after a long absence the quintessentially runabout — a car named after a slang word for donkey and so basic it lacks doors and a roof — was back."

This is the best news since the release of Troll 2, an attempted horror movie that centres on an American family being hunted by vegetarian creatures who try to turn them into vegetable paste so they can eat them.

OK, unfortunately the company with the biggest impact on Australian motoring, Takata, which made airbags that can rupture and send debris flying inside the vehicle killing those in the seats, went belly-up so no AGM opportunities there. Luckily Takata found the core of the problem. Its Mexican subsidiary had mishandled the manufacture of explosive propellants and improperly stored chemicals used in airbags. Three million cars recalled in Oz and 97 million in the rest of the world.

According to Rocket Rod Sims at the ACCC, 28 manufacturers including Bentley and Lambo have recalled more than 150 models in the first nine months of 2020.

Moke International has launched 56 new, bigger re-engineered in Britain, manufactured in France, slightly bigger Mokes starting at $35k. Are there two worse things you don't want to hear when buying a car than engineered in Britain, manufactured in France?

And for my boss, the big boss and other temporary persons, Monaco's Venturi Group has launched the Wattman, the world's fastest electric motorcycle in its category, which six-time world champion Max Biaggi will ride at over 330km/h.